10 Jul 2012
Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean visited Suzhou on 6 July to co-chair the 9th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), 14th Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) Joint Steering Council (JSC) and the 5th Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city (TEC) JSC meeting with Vice Premier Wang Qishan. The JCBC, as the annual high-level platform on cooperation between the two countries, reviewed the existing bilateral collaboration projects and explored new areas of further collaboration while the SIP JSC and TEC JSC meetings took stock of the progress and charted the future directions of the two flagship Government-to-Government projects.
During the visit, DPM was hosted to meals by Vice Premier Wang Qishan, Jiangsu Party Secretary Luo Zhijun and Suzhou Party Secretary Jiang Hongkun. At a meeting with Jiangsu Party Secretary Luo, both leaders reaffirmed the significance of the SIP in Singapore-China bilateral relations and its transformation since its inception 18 years ago. DPM also visited the SIP Exhibition Hall and Cultural Centre and the Fangzhou Neighbourhood Centre which is modelled after Singapore's neighbourhood hub.
DPM was accompanied by Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Education Heng Swee Keat, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, and the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and National Development Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Community Development, Youth and Sports Sam Tan and senior officials from MTI, MND, MAS, and MFA including HE Ambassador Stanley Loh and Consul-General in Shanghai Ong Siew Gay.
(10th July 2012)
